The 9 Most Important Indians to Follow on Twitter

Gautam Chikermane has been a journalist for two decades. In the last 14 years, he has led large editorial teams in four of India?s largest and most influential publications, decoding the complex, layered and hugely exciting idea called India.

The most efficient and timely way to get a feel for the Indian business landscape--not to mention Indian society--is to follow the Twitter streams of the most interesting players in that landscape. Just as you do in the U.S.

Here are nine such must-follow Tweeters, ordered alphabetically, focusing on people who are smart, active on Twitter and full of insights that could directly or indirectly help you negotiate India's sometimes maddening, often exhilerating and unfailingly fascinating business scene.

@anandmahindra: The chairman of one of India’s largest business groups, Anand Mahindra was one of the early business leaders to embrace Twitter. Apart from comments on the economy and business, Mahindra has virtually converted his account into a single point that gets consumer feedback and delivers redress.

@BDUTT: One of India’s top journalists, Barkha Dutt is the group editor of NDTV, a leading and credible TV news channel. Sharp and diligent, Dutt has made a name for herself as an anchor-reporter not merely in India but globally. Her tweets are a mix of on-ground reportage and accompanying views.

@bibekdebroy: One of India’s foremost economists, Bibek Debroy tweets about the macro numbers governing India’s universe with commentaries on related issues like politics thrown in. Beyond economics, Debroy is a great resource for ancient Indian culture and its medium --- the language of Sanskrit.

@EconomicTimes: India’s largest business newspaper, The Economic Times focuses on large companies, particularly listed entities, apart from the economy and finance. But it also publishes stories of small businesses with advisories thrown in. You could look at it as a starting point into India Inc.

@ficci_india: A lobby group for businesses, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry skews towards large companies, but it also serves entrepreneurs in its events, commentaries and analyses across more than 50 sectors.

@pbmehta: One of the leading thinkers of India, Centre for Policy Research president Pratap Bhanu Mehta is a must-follow for anyone interested in this country. From politics to religion, Mehta has strongly-argued views that look beyond the immediate. While Mehta does not write to create "takeaways" for entrepreneur, his perspecitve is unmatched.

@paulwsj: It's ironic, but for foreign business owners looking at India, the best translator of the goings-on here is Paul Becket, the south Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal. Becket assigns his reporters to report on India for the global reader. Again, the focus goes beyond immediate business news.

@RonnieScrewvala: One of top names in the entertainment industry, Ronnie Screwvala tweets on entrepreneurship. He takes questions from potential entrepreneurs and that makes his timeline interactive and interesting. Apart from enterprise and start-ups, Screwvala also tweets on rural India and the young.

@vineetnayar: The vice chairman of HCL Technologies, one of India’s largest software companies, is an entrepreneur at heart, an HR person in action and a writer when free. He uses Twitter both to get feedback and to offer insights into organisational behaviour.